‘Mother of all bombs’ killed 94 ISIS fighters, Afghan official

April 16, 2017, 1:58 PM IST

Kabul [Afghanistan]: At least 94 Islamic State fighters were killed when the U.S. military dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in Achin district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province earlier this week, an Afghan official said Saturday.

“The number of Daesh fighters killed in the US bomb in Achin district jumped to 94, including four commanders,” CNN quoted Nangarhar provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogiani, as saying.

“Our team is in the area and they are doing clearance, so the figure might change as they find more bodies,” said Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense.

The initial toll given by Afghan officials for Thursday’s strike was 36.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the “mother of all bombs” was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time Thursday to target a network of fortified underground tunnels that ISIS had been using to stage attacks on government forces in the province according to the U.S. administration.

The blast destroyed three underground tunnels as well as weapons and ammunition, but no civilians were hurt, Afghan and US officials claimed.

The 30-foot-long, GPS-guided bomb is capable of destroying an area equivalent to nine city blocks.

The US military previously estimated ISIS had 600 to 800 active fighters in the area.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he approved of the strike, and it was designed to support Afghan and US forces conducting clearance operations in the region.(ANI)